To ask Her Majesty's Government how many convictions there have been in each of the past three years of persons making false accusations; how many were false accusations of rape or sexual assault; and how many of those convicted were sentenced to imprisonment. [HL650]

Persons making a false accusation that a criminal offence has been committed may be proceeded against and found guilty of offences including perverting the course of justice, wasting police time and perjury.

Statistical information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the court proceedings database for England and Wales does not identify the circumstances of the offence. Therefore it is not possible separately to identify those cases resulting in court proceedings that have arisen solely from persons making false accusations.

Information for Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the Scottish Executive and Northern Ireland Office respectively.